Collapsible box.



. G. R. TIBBETTS. I y

ooLLAPsIBLE Box. APPLIOATIONFILED MAR'. 25, '1910.

Patented Jan. 3, 1911'.

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UNTTEB STATES PATENT FFTTCE.

GEORGE R. TIBBETTS, F SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

COLLAPSIBLE BOX.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 3, 1911.

v.Application filed March 25, 1910. Serial No. 551,569.

.and the ends, together with some means for maintaining' said front and back sides and said ends in their upright positions when said body is opened up or expanded vertically, all as hereinafter set forth.

The primary object of my invention is to produce a simple and inexpensive box, of the class above described, which according to its size is suitable for a great variety ot' purposes, and which when not in use can be easily and quickly collapsed so as to lie quite flat and thus take up little space in depth. The box can be extended or expanded for use as easily and quickly as it can be collapsed.

A further object is to provide such a box with adequate supports for the same whenexpanded, such supports preferably consisting of suitable braces at the corners.

Further objects will appear in the course of the following description.

This box may be made of such size as to render it available for use in place of a dress-suit case or for holding garments which it is desired to pack flat, and by changing the size can be utilized for other packing purposes.

I attain the objects and secure the advantages above pointed out by the means illusti'ated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a perspective view of a box which embodies my invention in a practical form, such box being shown expanded and with the cover closed, although the exposed end flap and the front flap of said cover are not brought down against the corresponding walls of the box as they would be in practice with the box strapped or corded; Fig.

2, a longitudinal, vertical section through said box, looking toward the rear wall thereof; Fig. 3, a transverse, vertical section through said box, looking toward thc righthand end wall; Fig. t, a longitudinal, vertical section through the box in its collapsed condition, looking in the same direction as in Fig. 2; Fig. 5, a transverse, vertical section through the collapsed box looking in the same direction as in Fig. 3; Fig. 6, an enlarged and exaggerated, fragmentary sectio-n of a corner of the box, showing a man ner in which the walls may be creased to produce an efhcient joint; Fig. 7, an enlarged, perspective view of one of the corner braces, and, Fig. S, a fragmentary view showing a corner of the box with the brace applied to the outside. Portions of the cover of the box, raised, appear in Figs. 2 and 3.

Similar figures refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings, it will be seen that I have therein illustrated a box which. comprises a bottom l, front and back walls 2 and 3, respectively, end walls 4 4, and a cover 5 provided with a front flap 6 and end flaps 7 7. Two sheets of fiber stock are used in making this box, but the box may be made out of more or less than that number of sheets. One of the aforesaid sheets is fashioned into the box body or box proper, and the other into the cover 5 provided with a rear flap 8, in addition to the flaps already mentioned. The ap 8 is attached to the back wall 3, on the outside, by means of staples 9, or in any other suitable manner. The construction and arrangement of the parts may be such that the loose cov-er flaps close over the outside of the box body, as shown, or such that either he front flap 6 or the end flaps 7 or all three pass down inside of the corresponding wall or walls of the box when the cover is shut. Up to this point the parts are old and wellknown and subject to a greatvariety of changes which come within the prior art.

Each of the side walls, 2 and 3, of the box has a central longitudinal joint 10 extending from end to end thereof; and each of the end walls, 4, has a central longitudinal joint ll which branches at each end and extends to the adjacent corners, as shown at 12, in Figs. 1 and 3, and has an extension 13 between each pair of such branches,lsuch extension being in line with the main joint and leading from the crotch formed by said branches to the adjacent end of the wall in which said main joint and its branches and extensions are located. The joints and the joints 11 with their oblique branches 12 are all arranged to told inwardly and the extensions 13 to told outwardly when the box is collapsed.

By locating the single joints in the back and front Walls, the corner projections which the collapsed box niust necessarily produce are at the ends o" the box, as shown at 1li-lll, in Fig. Ll, there being two such projections at each end et said box. l3nt by interchanning the joints, so as to have the single joints in the end .valls and the branched and extended joints in the front and back Walls, the projections 1st u-ill be at the trent and rear instead ot at the ends.

Then the box shown in the drawings is collapsed each Wall at the front and baclr folds together throughout its entire length upon or at its joint 10, and each end Wall 'folds at its joint 11, including the connected branches 12 and the extensions 13, on the projections 1d, said joint 11 like said joint 10 bending inwardly, and said branches also bending inwardly and with said extensions, which latter are bent the other way and are also readjusted so that they lie at rightangles to their former positionsr` taking position Within the adjacent folded side or Wall at the ends.

ln Fig. (i is shown at 15 a triple-crease joint which l. prefer to employ in the construction oit my box, although seine other might be substituted therefor. This joint made by doubly creasing the material on one side and singly creasing' it on the other side at a point intermediate of the positions oit `the twin creases or ol the ribs produced by said twin creases. This kind ot a joint should be used for thev collapsible walls and may also be used to advantage for all of the joints in the box and even in the braces described beloiv, since such joint is very durable as Well as Aflexible and forms a rounded corner which enhances the appearance ot the box.

Then extended or straightened, the Walls of the box must be supported in that posi tion or condition in, some ivay, as hereinbefore noted, and as a simple and convenient means tor this purpose l may employ a told ing brace in each corner oi? said box. Each brace is of a length which is equal to the height olf the Walls on the inside when extended, has a longitudinal central joint 1o which divides it into two leaves 1T and 1S, is provided at one end, the bottom end when said brace is in opera tive or sup porting` position, vrith a rectangular foot-piece 19 Which is jointed at to the leatl 18, and is pivoted at 21 through said lcat 1S at the end opposite said toot-piece to one ot' the end Walls d near the top of the latter and the proper distance i'rolnthe adjacent corner of the box i eeoos to lock said joint 16 in such corner when the brace is in the aforesaid supporting position. rlhe length of the leat 18 and the thickness oit the toot-piece 1) combined equal the length ot' the leatl 17. The otiice ot' the toot-piece is to hold the tivo leaves ot the brace apart and at righbangular re lation to each other at the bottom, `When said brace stands upright.

For the .3 dre ot'V additional security at the corners, suitable fasteners tor each brace, besides the pivots 21, may be provided, such fasteners being` preferably ot' the snap variety like ordinary glove-fasteners. For eachv inside brace tivo such fasteners are provided, one lor the leat 1T at the .same end of the brace as the pivot 21, and the other lor the toot-picco 19. For the outside brace,that shown in the last view, three such fasteners are provided, one at each end of the leat 17, and one tor the foot-piece. 'llhese fasteners are represented at Q2. Une part ot each fastener is attached to the brace and the other part to the box, as is cus-- tomary with devices of this lrind, and the part Which is attached to the box is. oit course, so placed. that it can be engaged by its companion part when the brace is in locking position; in other Words, there are parts of said tasten-ers attached to the :liront and rear n'alls 2 and l, adjacent to the pivots Q11 in the ends et, and to the bottom 1 near the corners, all inside ot said box, :tor the inside brace, and to said trent and rear Walls, above and below the joints 10, and to said bottoni, all outside ot said box, tor the outside brace.

:ln practice, assuming the box to be equipped u'ith the inside braces and in a collapsed coiuflition, it is made ready tor use by raising the upper portion olf said box to straighten the walls thereof, and 'then turning doivn said braces on their pivots 9.1, until said braces tit snugly into the corners ot the box, and connecting the fasteners 22 by snapping associa-ted parts into engageinent with each other in the usual manner. Each brace is nonv securely held by its pivot and fasteners in a corner of the box, with the leaves 17 and 18 arranged at right-angles to cach other andthe toot-piece 19 attached by its fastener to the bottom in such a Way as to hold said leaf 17 in place at the base, and in turn the Walls ot' the box at and adjacent to such corner are supported by said brace. Thus expanded and supported the box is in condition for use like a box ot' ordinary construction.

lVhen the box is no longer needed, it is collapsed or compactly pressed together, after iirst disconnecting the fasteners 22, and swinging the braces up against the ends Ll; of the box. ln the collapsed box the braces should by preference lie tlat on the upper folds of the ends l, as shown in Figs. l and L inside braces.

5, since said braces thus opened out at the joints 16 and 20 take up less room and permit the box to be collapsed still more, thus enabling it to be stored in a shalloiver' space than would otherwise be the case. In the act of collapsing all of the jointed members fold in and turn in so that the box is not lengthened by that operation. The outside braces fit over the corners of the box, with the footpieces 19 underneath the. bottom l, as shown in Fig. S, instead of tting the corners on the inside with the foot-piece above said bottom, as explained, and each of said outside braces has the additional fastener previously mentioned, but the expanding and collapsing operations, which include the manipulation of the braces to lock and unlock the Walls, is substantially7 the same with the outside braces as with the inside braces.

` The outside braces serve to protect the corners of the box from Wear and injury, Which something of an additional advantage perhaps, but their efciency as locking mediums is no better if as good asT that of the For some purposes the box need not be provided with supports of any kind, the contents of the box being depended upon to retain it in its expanded condition.

Some departures may be made from the construction herein shown and described, in addition to those to which attention has already been called, such as in the matter of locking and releasing means tor the collapsible Walls, Without violating the spirit of my invention.

What l claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. The combination, in a collapsible box, With the bottom, and the front, back and end Walls of the box, such Walls being longitudinally jointed intermediate ot' their top and bottom edges, of braces for such Walls when extended, such braces being pivotally attached at suitable points to the Walls and adapted to lie flat when the box is collapsed and to fold to an angular cross-section when the box is expanded.

2. The combination, in a collapsible box, with the bottom, and the front, back and end Walls of the box, such Walls being longitudinally ointed intermediate of their top and bottom edges, of corner braces to support said Walls when extended, such braces being pivotally attached at suitable points to the Walls and adapted to lie fiat When the box is collapsed and to told to an angular crosssection when the box is expanded, and fasteners adapted to further secure said braces to the Walls and to secure them to said box bottom when said braces are in operative position.

GEORGE R. TBBETTS.

lVit-nesses F. A. CUTTER, A. C. lunBANxs. 

